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		<title>Inform: The Program</title>
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		<h1><a href="index.html"><img src="docs-assets/Inform.png" height=72> </a></h1>
<ul><li><span class="unlink">home</span></li>
</ul><h2>Compiler</h2><ul>
<li><a href="structure.html">structure</a></li>
<li><a href="inbuildn.html">inbuild</a></li>
<li><a href="inform7n.html">inform7</a></li>
<li><a href="intern.html">inter</a></li>
<li><a href="services.html">services</a></li>
<li><a href="secrets.html">secrets</a></li>
</ul><h2>Other Tools</h2><ul>
<li><a href="inblorbn.html">inblorb</a></li>
<li><a href="inform6.html">inform6</a></li>
<li><a href="inpolicyn.html">inpolicy</a></li>
</ul><h2>Resources</h2><ul>
<li><a href="extensions.html">extensions</a></li>
<li><a href="kits.html">kits</a></li>
</ul><h2>Repository</h2><ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/ganelson/inform"><img src="docs-assets/github.png" height=0> github</a></li>
</ul><h2>Related Projects</h2><ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/ganelson/inweb"><img src="docs-assets/github.png" height=0> inweb</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/ganelson/intest"><img src="docs-assets/github.png" height=0> intest</a></li>
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    <ul class="crumbs"><li><a href=".html"></a></li><li><b>Inform: The Program</b></li></ul></div>
<p class="commentary firstcommentary"><a id="SP1" class="paragraph-anchor"></a>Inform is a programming language used for interactive fiction and other creative
purposes. For user documentation, and downloads of the apps, go to the Inform home page
at: <a href="http://www.inform7.com" class="external">http://www.inform7.com</a>
</p>

<p class="commentary">Most users engage with Inform as an app on their devices: there are apps
for MacOS, Windows, Linux and Android, but in the centre of each is the same
core compiler and software. This website is part of the Github repository for
that core, which is written as a "literate program", meaning that it is compiled
both to a "woven", human-readable version as well as a "tangled",
computer-executable version. You are now reading the woven version. For more on
literate programming, go to the tool used by the Inform project: <a href="inweb/index.html" class="internal">inweb</a>
</p>

<p class="commentary">Like all complex software systems, Inform is an assemblage of many individual
programs, images, PDF files, sets of test cases, documentation, and so on.
This page is intended as a jumping-off point for browsing the source code and
technical documentation: it doesn't list every last thing.
</p>

<ul class="items"><li>&#9679; At the heart of Inform are the first four links below, making up its main
compiler. See <a href="structure.html" class="internal">structure</a> for how they fit together.
</li><li>&#9679; Several important <a href="kits.html" class="internal">kits</a> and <a href="extensions.html" class="internal">extensions</a> used by Inform are also written as
literate programs.
</li></ul>
<div class="inweb-extract">
      <div class="w3-row-padding w3-padding-16 w3-center" id="food">
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="inbuildn.html"><img src="docs-assets/inbuild.jpg" alt="Inbuild" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="inbuildn.html">inbuild</a></h3>
          <p>A stand-alone build manager which is also Stage 1 of the Inform compiler.</p>
        </div>
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="inform7n.html"><img src="docs-assets/inform7.jpg" alt="Inform 7" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="inform7n.html">inform7</a></h3>
          <p>The core Inform compiler, containing Stages 2 to 5.</p>
        </div>
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="intern.html"><img src="docs-assets/inter.jpg" alt="Inter" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="intern.html">inter</a></h3>
          <p>A stand-alone tool for intermediate-level code, which is also
          Stages 6 and 7 of the Inform compiler.</p>
        </div>
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="services.html"><img src="docs-assets/services.jpg" alt="Services" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="services.html">services</a></h3>
          <p>Support for predicate calculus, linguistics, syntax trees and more.</p>
        </div>
      </div>
      
      <div class="w3-row-padding w3-padding-16 w3-center">
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="inblorbn.html"><img src="docs-assets/inblorb.jpg" alt="Inblorb" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="inblorbn.html">inblorb</a></h3>
          <p>A packaging tool for wrapping interactive fiction story files,
          included with the Inform apps.</p>
        </div>
       <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="inform6.html"><img src="docs-assets/inform6.jpg" alt="Inform 6" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="inform6.html">inform6</a></h3>
          <p>A compiler for a low-level programming language,
          included with the Inform apps.</p>
        </div>
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="inpolicyn.html"><img src="docs-assets/inpolicy.jpg" alt="Inpolicy" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="inpolicyn.html">inpolicy</a></h3>
          <p>A small tool for checking that the Inform source base complies
          with some self-imposed social norms.</p>
        </div>
      </div>
      
      <div class="w3-row-padding w3-padding-16 w3-center">
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="../../inweb/inweb/index.html"><img src="docs-assets/inweb.jpg" alt="Inweb" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="../../inweb/inweb/index.html">inweb</a></h3>
          <p>A literate-programming tool needed to build the other Inform tools.</p>
        </div>
        <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="../../intest/intest/index.html"><img src="docs-assets/intest.jpg" alt="Intest" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="../../intest/intest/index.html">intest</a></h3>
          <p>A tool for running complex suites of end-to-end tests to verify the
          correctness of other tools.</p>
        </div>
         <div class="w3-quarter">
          <a href="../../inweb/foundation-module/index.html">
          <img src="docs-assets/services.jpg" alt="Foundation" style="width:100%"></a>
          <h3><a href="../../inweb/foundation-module/index.html">foundation</a></h3>
          <p>File-handling, generating HTML, semantic version-numbering,
          string-handling, memory management, and so on.</p>
        </div>
     </div>
</div>

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